Author Interview – Richard L. Blake

At The Book Shelf Press, we love talking to authors about their books, and we’re delighted to chat with Richard L. Blake PhD, author of Cut Off. His debut nonfiction book discusses the parental estrangement epidemic.

Hi Richard, congratulations on the release of Cut Off! Can you tell us what is your book about?

Family estrangement and how therapy culture is causing parents to get cut off by their adult children.

Wow, that sounds like an important topic. What made you want to write about this?

I did a lot of therapy myself, as well as completing a postgraduate certificate in psychotherapy and a PhD in psychology. When initially learnt about this topic, I thought that therapy was universally useful. But as I studied deeper, I saw the damage it was doing to people. Then I started posting about it on social media and it blew up. I realised how many people were being treated unfairly and how people were being brainwashed by bad therapy.

That’s really interesting. Is that who you wrote the book for?

It is mostly for decent parents who have had their past rewritten by bad therapy. It is not for parents who were genuinely abusive to their children. It is also for the adult children who may be on the slippery slope of reinterpreting their upbringing in a much more negative light.

What do you hope the book achieves?

I wanted to help people see that they are not alone in this situation, and to help people who are confused by what happened in their family. I also hope the book makes therapists see the value of family and see the damage of blaming parents for the rise in mental illness.

Of course, we wish you all of the luck with your aims. So, how long did the writing and publishing process take, and what was your biggest challenge?

It took about a year. The biggest challenge was staying on task and reducing distractions from many different things that need managing in my life. I work in real estate on the side, and I was able to balance my writing and real estate career by being efficient and working quickly. I had a sense of urgency inside that drove me to write the book as quickly as possible. I think that urgency comes from seeing how many people are suffering from family estrangement and wanting to help them in some way.

What was your happiest moment in the process?

Being told by one of the reviewers that this book is going to really help some people.

If you could do anything differently in the process, what would it be?

Although completing the book without the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) would have taken a lot longer, I used AI for research and found that having to constantly check back on AI’s processes made me distracted and it encouraged a shallow focus at times.

What skill do you feel is the most important in becoming an author?

Doing deep work. I read Cal Newport’s book Deep Work, and this really drove home the point about avoiding shallow work and distraction.

If you had one piece of advice for aspiring authors, what would it be?

Focus on something that you really feel is going to make the world better. That connection to something bigger than yourself will help drag you through all the difficult times.

Thank you, Richard. And a few questions just for fun… What’s your favourite book?

Lost Connections by Johan Hari.

If you could have dinner with three authors, who would they be?

Wilbur Smith, Johan Hari, and Jonathan Haidt.

Thank you for sharing your story and your book with the world, Richard!

Buy the book on Amazon.

Find Richard on Instagram, TikTok, and on Facebook.

For further support, you can access a course on estrangement at Cut Off Book.